A beautiful day dawned over Shanklin Cricket Club on the 25th July. What a wonderful setting this is for any event, but this day was reserved for St Blasius Church summer fete. The cricket club let us have it for free, and Bunny, the groundsman does all he can to help, cutting the grass for the parking facilities, and any other jobs that Ray, our leader, asks him to do. Thank you Bunny.

All the equipment was brought down from the church early in the morning, and the team of volunteers, church members, friends and colleagues, set to work erecting gazebos and putting up tables and chairs around the grounds.

1:45pm Steve Knight the Mayor and his wife Esther formally opened the fete. Apart from the stalls, selling jams and cakes, clothes, bric a brac, books, quoits and other goodies. Entertainment for the afternoon was provided by the Dogs Obedience Group Shanklin, followed by The Gillian Cartwright School of Dancing and to finish the saxophone quartet Four Sheets To The Wind played for us.

Emily, Alice and Zinnia were in charge of the Face Painting, and lots of people had art on face and arms, but Douglas Kelly went around the grounds asking for donations to have his face painted. He raised over £60 having his face painted as a dog. I'm not sure which breed he was, but it caused a bit of fun.

The atmosphere at the fete was happy and jolly, and the tea room was kept busy all afternoon. Soon Brian who had been on the bottle stall had sold out and it was time for the Raffle, everyone then began to drift home and in came those volunteers once again to dismantle the site.